Roasted Eggplant Meatballs

white bowl with spaghetti and eggplant meatballs with red sauce in it on brown wooden board.

These delicious eggplant meatballs are the perfect "meatless" version of an Italian classic. Instead of meat, they are filled with roasted eggplant, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and fresh basil.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword eggplant meatballs, roasted eggplant meatballs, vegetarian meatballs

Freezer Friendly Yes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 5

Servings meatballs

Calories 53kcal

Author Bethany Kramer

Ingredients

1 lb eggplant, cubed
1 cup breadcrumbs (regular panko or gluten-free)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon (each) salt & black pepper
2 cups tomato sauce/marinara for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F.
Roasted eggplant: on a sheet pan, arrange cubed eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle of salt. Toss in oil and bake for 20 minutes, flip halfway through.
Puree eggplant: in a large food processor, add eggplant and pulse until it's pureed. Let cool.
Mix meatball ingredients: in a large bowl, mix together pureed eggplant, minced garlic, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, salt & pepper, and chopped basil.
Form meatballs: use a cookie scoop or measure out 3 tablespoons of meatball and gently used hands to form into ball. Arrange on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake: lower oven temperature to 375F and bake meatballs for 20-25 minutes.
Simmer in sauce: when meatballs are finished, add to a sauce pan with marinara and simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve right away with additional chopped fresh basil and parmesan cheese!

Notes

Make it gluten-free - either use store-bought breadcrumbs or make them yourself with gluten-free bread! You can find my favorite homemade breadcrumb recipe in this post.

What to serve eggplant meatballs with - my favorite way to serve these up is with chickpea pasta, regular wheat pasta, or gluten-free noodles. You can also serve them with zucchini or vegetable noodles!

Add extra herbs - for more fresh flavor, you can also add chopped fresh oregano or parsley to these meatballs.

Nutrition